The Legend of Alidar El'Iren

Prologue -

Alidar watched as his mother passed from this life to the next. Redness smudged his face from tears long since dried, as the holy men covered her body with flowers and lowered her into the unmarked grave. This was the custom in Dasir, he knew, but he wished they would have hired a Heater to flashfire her to nothing but ash. That way her ashes could drift up to The Maker like she always wanted, instead of her spirit being trapped in the cold earth. Alidar's gaze swept the small crowd that had gathered. Iren was a poor woman, a widow whose husband had died in the war between Dasir and its neighbor Kalim, but her wealth lay in her relationships with others. There was the baker and his wife, the tax lady who had been nursed back to health by Iren, the seamstress and her interns, the landlord of their house, and many others. All of them had come to pay their respects.

Alidar could no longer take comfort in that. He was now an orphan. At around 13 years old he knew what that meant. If he wanted to survive he would have to move quickly. There were darker denizens of Dasir and he knew enough about them from his friend Selethen that he was sure they would come for him. A young man with nowhere to go and no home to speak of, old enough to obey orders but young enough to be brainwashed into loving the person who gave them. Alidar was already packed. Selethen had promised him a place and while Alidar was wary of the older boy's intentions, he had been a good friend through the last few years of his mothers illness.

When the service had finished and all the well wishers had departed, many promising aid in the coming days out of respect for his mother, Alidar knelt at the freshly turned over earth.

"I'm sorry imara. I'm sorry I couldn't provide for you like I promised I would. I'm leaving Dasir for a while but I'll be back eventually to say hello. I'm going to miss you imara. So much. Watch over me, would you? I love you imara."

He reached out and planted a small wildflower on her grave before getting up and turning towards the city. The great walled city of Dasir rose ahead of him, its opulent towers and domed palace visible from where he stood on a hillside overlooking the sea and the city in equal measure. The great Inland Sea stretched into the horizon, the tips of waves sparkling like jewels as Azkelethon, the sun realm, surrendered the sky to Navthalir, realm of the moon. Taking his eyes from the scene, Alidar began walking towards the city intent on being in and out before they closed the gates for the night.

An hour later he was done and heading towards the gate. The apartment that his mother had rented was cleaned up and his meager belongings had already been packed. He had left the key where the landlord would find it and was now headed for the place Selethen had said he would meet him. Soon the figure of his friend could be seen standing off to the side of the thoroughfare as people walked or rode past him to get into the city before it closed for the night. Selethen tossed him a cowled cloak without a word and they headed for the gate. Wrapping the cloak about him and pulling the cowl down and around his face Alidar half turned to take one last glance at the inside of Dasir as it bustled with the last rush of the day before setting his face into an emotionless mask and following his friend out of the city. He would be back, but only after he was strong enough and had the skills to survive on his own.